Consultation on changing legal gender to be launched

The UK government is considering plans to make the process of changing legal gender easier, according to a report by BBC News.

Currently, people must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition where a person's biological sex and identity does not match.

The equalities minister says she wants to reform the 2004 Gender Recognition Act to make the process less intrusive. LGBT campaign group Stonewall says the current system is "demeaning and broken".

The 2004 law says people wanting a change of gender to be legally recognised in the UK need to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. This is issued by the Gender Recognition Panel, a judicial body which legally determines what gender an individual defines as.

As well as a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the person applying must provide evidence that they have been in transition for at least two years.

The most recent figures, for the three months between January and March 2017, show that 112 people applied to change their gender, with 88% of those being granted the certificate.

The consultation on the 2004 Gender Recognition Act will begin in the autumn.